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THESIS

 
THESIS

 

 
THE POTATO INDUSTRY OF COLORADO
By

E. R. Bennett. //07
et pte et chen em el mt Ree
THESIS
Economy in production is the Key note in moder
business. The growing of our three great food crops, wheat,
corn and potatoes has to conform to this law the same as other
vroductive industries.

| In the early history of this country, the wheat that
fed the people of the East was produced in the States where it
Was consumed. is soon as the great level plains of the West
were brought under cultivation, wheat could be produced %° much
more cheaply than in the East that the farmer of the latter
place was compelled to turn his attention to some other branch
of farming. We believe the same thing is becoming true of the
potato projiuction. Since the petato came to be used as a food
its use has steadily increased till now it is a staple food in
all civilized countries. The potato crop of Europe represents
more money each year than the wheat crop of the whole world.
As the population of the United States increases, the total
consumption of potatoes must increase. The consumption per
capita without a doubt will also increase as it has done in.
Europe, for the potato is the poor ran's food.

The question for this discussion is: Will the grow
ing of the hundreds of millionsof bushels of potatoes /aupply
this demand in the United States be to a large extent local—
ized as is the wheat production, And, Has Colorado and the

93897
other Rocky Mountain States advantages ‘or potato growing
sufficient to make the potato industry, to these States, what
the wheat growing industry is to the States of the plains?

In making a s8udy of the probabilities of success
in any competitive enterprise, there are many factors that
must be considered.

In the order of relative importance these divisions
of the discussion may be given as follows:—

FIRST, Climatic adaptability.

SECOND, Geographical =, osition with relation to
narkets,. |

THIRD, Soil fertility.

FOURTH, Moisture control.

FIFTH, Insect pests and plant diseases.
SIXTH, Relative cost of production.
SEVENTH, Available land.

CLIMATIC ADAPTABILITY.

For a plant to make its maximum growth, it must have
surroundings that are friendly to it. <A climate similar to
that of the habitat of a plant can generally be relied upon
to produce the plant's best development.

The habitat of the potddo (Solanum tuberosum) is in

the mountain districts of South America. There the Spaniards
-3-

found it in use among the natives and the tuber was introduced
from there into Europe by them. An interesting fact that has
been observed by the writer in talking on potato culture to
the Mexicans in Sothern colorado / that the name "papas" used
for potato by these people is the same as that used by Pedro
Clega de Leon in his "Spanish Chronicles bf Pertie)550".

The potato still grows wild in the high mountain
valleys of Western South America and Mexico and a species of
the same genus (Solanum Jamesii) grows in the high mountain
Valleys of La Plata and Montezuma Counties in Southwest
Colorado.

In the past the production of potatoes in the United
S tates has been largely in the States along the Northern borders.
Of the two hundred ninety eight million bushels of potatoes
produced in the United States in 1907,¥* more than sixty per
cent were grown in nine of the Nortkern States including Maine,
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota and Iowa. At the same time by the same authority |
the price of potatoes in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota was

from forty one to forty five cents per Bushel, while the price

in Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia, was

*® Crop Revorter, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Dec. 1907.
ye

from one dollar to one dollar and ten cents por bushel.

Plenty of evidence could be given were it necessary
that in all the Southern States, the yield of potatoes per
acre is low and the quality poor.

The habitat of the potato, the high proaiuction of
the North and the high price of potatoss in the soutn are suf~
ficient evidence to show the potato grows best in more tem-
perate climates.

Experiments and statistics of yields siow the »sotato
delights in a climate of cool nights and warm days. The
Northern States because of the high latitude have the required
cool nights. The Rocky Mountain States, even as far Sautn as
New Mexico (in the high mountain valleys) also have cool
nights, because of the high altitude. Then we may conclude
that from the standpoint of temperature the two sections of
the country are equal.

Another branch of climatic adaptability must be
considered which, from the standpoint of the potato grower,
is possibly more important than temperature. Something over
four fifths-of the composition of all plants is carbon. fhis
element is taken directly from the air through the leaves of
the piemts in the form of carbon dioxide. Plant physidogists
tell us that this process of absorbing carbon from the air

takes place only in the presence of light and most rapidly
5

with most plants in the direct rays of the sun. The differ-
ence between these two sections of the country in the amount
of sunshine is quite marked. Zighty five per cent of the days
of the year in Colorado are clear. During the growing season
nearly constant sunshine is the rule. Many authorities at—
tribute thse great yields of grain and potatoes obtained in
Colorado, :iore to this constant bright sunshine, than to
either the natural fertility of the soil or to the control of

moisture.
GHOGRASHICAL POSITION WITH RELATION TO MARKETS,

It would seem that with a crop seventy-five per cent
of which is water, and with the dry matter of low food value,
that long distance shipments would be impracticable. This
has been an important problem but is becoming less so as
transportation facilities become better. During the past win-
ter, potatoes from the British Isles were m rxketed in the
United States as far West as Kansas City, Mo. At present one
of the greatest advantages that Colorado has over the Northern
States in potato pro. uction is in the fact of close proximity
to the high priced markets of the Southern States. The home
market for Colorado potatoes is of comvaratively little im-

portance as less than twenty-five per cent of the crop is con-

*% Meteriological records, Colo. Agrl. Ex. Sta.
-6~

sumed in the State. The markets of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana
and New Mexico are at present the competitive points for all
the large shippers West of New York and Pennsylvania. The
chief competitors of Colorado for these markets are Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Michigan. These States have the disadvantage

of a much longer haul and in winter have the increased danger
from loss by freezing in transit.

These Southem States, however, are not the only
marxet reached by Colorado potatoes. The potato shipments of
the Greeley district, ordinarily reach Kansas City and Chicago
on the East; frequently to Florida and Cuba on the South and
to California on the West. Also the high class trade of New
York City and the dining car service of the New York Central
and Lake Shore Railroads have for several years been partly
supplied with potatoes by Colorado growers. Therefore the
viarket for Colorado potatoes extends over more than one half

of the territory of the Wnited States.
SOIL FERTILITY AS A FACTOR IW POTATO PRODUCTION.

Without a doubt the greatest single item of cost at
the present time of CrOP production in the East is the artifi-
cial maintenance of the fertility of the soil. The enriching
of the soil by the application of the three essential elements
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the form of commercial

fertilizers is almost universally practiced in the East.
-[-

No ata is obtainable as to the average cost of this
material to the grower but according to different authorities
it is between ten and thirty dollars per acrefor the initial
cost, beside the expense of application. The exverinents
of Prof. W. Paddock in Colorado shows that no increase in yield
was obtained in the Greeley District from the application of
any of these elements or from a combination of them. The
solis of the West are naturally moierately well supplied with
phosphorus and potassium salts, but are deficient in nitrogen-
ous matter. In the rotation of crops the alfalfa plant is
grown at least two years out of five on nearly all potato land.
This plant has been known to send its roots into the soil in
Colorado to a depth of fourteen feet. In this way the wailable
phosphoric acid, potash and other mineral salts are brought to
the surface and as thlant takes nitrogen from the air, the
essential elements are prévided in syfficient quantities with—
out the aid of commercial fertilizers. The roots of this plant
in penetrating the sub-soil also act as (isintegrating agents
so it may be said that Colorado soils are tilled to a depth of

from four to fourteen feet, or to the water table.

MOISTURE CONTROL.

 

Other things being favorable, the yield and quality
of potatoes in the rain belt sections depends upon the amount
of precipitation during the growing season. If the rai&fall
is light, the yield is correspondingly light, but is usually
attended by good quality. On the otherimd, if @eXcessive pre
cipitation occurs, the crop will be cut down or the quality
seriously impaired.

In the irigated sections of the West, the loss from
excessive precipitation is very unusual and while the mality
of the Product is frequently impaired by over-watering, the
outcome as to yield and quality is a matter of skill with the
growers rather than chance with the weather. The argument is
sometime advanced that the labor involved in irrigating in
the West is a serious handicap in the competition: with the
East. Careful estimatesy® as to the cost of irrigating potatoes
in the Greeley District, show this to be about one and one nalf
Gollars per acre. This we believe is off-set in the rain belt

states by the time lost from unfavorable weather conditions.

NSECT PESTS AND PLANT DISEASES.

In a general way new countries, 8® ess troubled
with insect pests and plant diseases than the older farm com
munities. Reasoning from this standpoint, we would exvect
that while the West has comparative few troubles along these

lines at present, it would be onlv a question of time when all

*® Bulletin 117, Colo. Exp. Sta.

 
-9-

the pests of the Fast would be equally as troublesome in the
West. The facts in the case, however, do not juetity fon-
Glusion even with insects

The striped »otato beetle (Doryvphora decerlineata)
is a native of the East slope of the Rocky Mountains, and may
be found in the potato fields of Greeley and living on the
various species of wild Solanums that grow on the plains. The
insect is Kept in cmtrol in Colorado by its natural enemies
to such an extent that the damage done by it is not usually
noticeable even in the Greeley District and on the West slope
the insect 18 unknown.

Two soil fungi, Corticum vagun, and Fusarium, do
considerable damage on certain type of soils. These fungi
are notpeculiar to Colorado or the West, however,. Both are
known in the East but possibly do less damage than tn the
alkali soils of the West. No specific treatment for these
diseases is known and in consequence the yield of tubers ob-—
tained is not at an increased cost because of them.

The dreaded late blight (Phytophthora infestans )
that causes the great loss to the potato crop in the Hast has
never as yet, appeared in the arid sections of the West. The
question of/ pessibility of this fungue becoming prevalent in
the West is often brought up. In a general way the dry climate
of the arid sections is not conducive to the growth of any of

the mill-—daews, scabs, rusts or other fungi that work on plants

 
-~10—-

above ground, so that the West is comparatively little troubled
with this class of fungi. The potato blight fungus particularly
demands a humid, cloudy atmosphere for its development, even

in the East. lany affected tubers are brought to Cohorado
from the East each year and as yet this fungus has never,so

far as known, apnveared in the State. With our Knowledge of

the nature of this disease and the fact of its not having ap~
peared here would lead us to think that we are justified in
saying that the Colorado grower need have no fear of this

dread pest. In the Hast the svraying of the potato plant with
Bordeaux mixture to pravent this trouble, brings to the grower
an aided exvense in growing the crop of from five to ten dol-

lars per acre.
RELATIVE COST OF PRODUCTION.

A womparison of cost of production of potatoes
petwoen the Rast and the West is sanewhat difficult owing to
the difference in methods of culture. The cost of the seed,
preparatien of the iand and vilanting is practi:ally the same
for each. The cultivation of the land after planting is
probably somewhat more expensive in the East than in the West
because of the necessity of more or less hand work in prevent-

ing weeds. This may be vartly offset by the ditching for
-ll—

irrigation requiréd in the West, though the ditching practi-
cally takes the »lace of one cultivation. The work of appli-
cation of the water to the potato fields of the latter, an
expense of between one and two dollars per acre, together with
the rent value of the water used, approximately two and one
half dollars an acre, are practically all the items of differ-
ence to offset the cost of the co: mercial fertilizer, its
application and the spraying for insects and fungus diseases
of the former. Altogether the cost of the production of po-
tatoes in irrigated sections is not far from thirty-five dol
lars per acre. The yield of potatoes per acre for Colorado

as given by the statistics of the U. 5S. Department of Agricul
ture for 1907, was 150 bushels as against 90, 98 and 97 for
Michigan, New York and Wisconsin respectively. This vield in
Colorado included much land in the Eastern part of the State
not irrigated and a considerable irrigated land that is not
adapted either by climate or character of soil to potato
production. The yield of potatoes in the sectiormof the State
that are adapted to this crop have for at least the past few
years been not less than 100 sacks or 200 bushels per acre.
Therefore, the cost of producting and putting the crop on the
market in these favorable sections of the State is from 15 to

204 por bushel.
~1~

The price of land in these sections might be con-
sidered to have a deterent influence on the development of
this industry in the West. It is true that land in the Greeley
District (the oldest District of considerable size in the
West that produces potatoes) sells at from $100 to $250 per acre
depending on distance from shipping points and quality of land.
fhis price of land, however, is largely the direct result of
the income from the potato industry for the past thirty years,

so it can hardly be expected to have that effect.

AVAILABLE LAND. _

 

The argument that has been used most by the pro-
jueers of the specialized crops of the East and by the land
owners there, is that the mount of land in the West that can
be economically irrigated and that is adapted to this industry
is too insignificant to be considered. This mmes, however,
only from a misconception of tho agricultural possibilities of
the West. It is true that the plains of the East slope of the
Rockies that can be watered, have been largely developed.
Probably the Greeley potato growing district will never become,
owing toa lack of water for irrigation, more than twice its
present provortions. That would mean,at the present preportien
of land planted to potatoes each year, a production of from
eight to twenty million bushels annually. The mountain valleys

on the other hand, have, we might say, harily been developed
 

 

 

 
-1%

enough to estimate the vossibibities. The San Luis Valley
a mountain basin at the head of the Rio Grande River, in
soutnern Colorado, is a tract of land as large am the State
of Connecticut. This basin of over tnree million acres can
and may some day in the not distant future all be irrigated
and cultivated.

The record yield of potatoss for the State of Colora-
do, 8474 bushels on a measured acre, was obtained by R. A.
Chisholm at an altitude of 7,800 ft. in this valley. If one
tenth of the land in this Valley were to produce 200 bushels
of potatoes por acre, the total yield would be more than one
fifth of the annual potato supply for the United States.

An estimate of the available land in the other
valleys is impossible to make acourately. That covered by
the Gunnaison Tunnel project in the Uncompahgre Valley is 165,0@
acres. This with the land of the North Fork and that above
the Gunnison Tunnel water, would make from two hundred to two
hundred fifty thousand acres for this valley. The Valleys of
the Roaring Fork, Crystal, Magle and Grande Rivers are al-
ready noted for the quality and yield of their potatoes,
yet but a small part of the land in these valleys is developed.
From one half million to one million acres of land in La Plata,
Montezuma, San Miguel, Delores and Western Montrose Counties,

still in the wilderness, are largely adapted to the culture of
 

 

 
—1-

Bhis crop and will undoubtedly pecone in the near future one
of the most productive districts in the country. Again,
Middle and North Parks and the great valleys of the Yampa and
White Rivers contain unknown resources in agricultural land.

All these various sections of dolorado are to a
large extent as well adapted to potato culture as those which
have already become famous for this product, and easily have
a possibility of producing along with the practigel rotation of
grain and alfalfa one hundred million bushels_fotatoos per year.

CONCLUSION.

 

In summing up the possibilities for potato culture
in Colorado, we find first, the Rocky Mountain States nave,
particularly at the higher altitudes, a climate that, from the
standpoint of temperature and sunshine, is adapted to induce
the greatest development of the potato plant and the highest
quality of tubers.

Second, the geographical position of Colorado is such
that the highest priced potato markets of the United States
are in close proximity to the grower, and the central locatien
in the country gives the State an advantage in shipping to any
place where a shortage in crop may occur,

Third, the potato soils of Colorado are sufficiently
 

 
~15-

fartile so that with the rotation of crops practiced, a maximum
yield of potatoes Bobtained and the foertility of the soil is
maintained without the use of commercial fertilizers.

Fourth, with an insufficient rainfall, loss from .
too much water is unusual. On the other hand, irrigation puts
in the hands of the grower the power of supplying the water
at such times as will give the crop the opportunity Sor its
best development.

Fifth, the damage to the potato crop from insect
pests such as the Colorado potato beetle, has been canpara-
tively small, because of the insects control by its parasitic
enemies. The little black flea beetle and insects of that
chapacter have caused some trouble, but not more than in ether
parts of the country. Plant diseases caused by fungi and
bacteria, cannot in any way be considered a menace to the in-
dustry. Nothing but soil fungi cause trouble and these only
under certain conditions of soil and temperature.

Sixth, from a practical standvoint the histay of
the industry bears out to a large extent the theoretical ad—
vantages that have been mentioned. The cost of production per

acre is hardly more than two thirds that of the Eastern States.
~16—

The yield oer acre has been,even vith the poor system of growing
uracticed in sane varts of the State, about one half more

than that of Michigan, Wisconsin and Mfnnesota. The average
selling price for the past ten years at the local stations in
Colorado, has been 65¢ por hundred, which with a 100 sack

yield, leaves a net gain of 30¢ por hundred, or $36 per acre.

The total yield of the State has not been large as
compared with the production of the United States, yet enough
of the crop has been marketed in competition with the other
big potato producing states, to show that Colorado potatoes
can be sold at a profit to the growers in comnetition with any
of the larger potato oroducing states.

With all these advantages for growing and marketing
and the opportunity of development, we believe Colorado and
its neighboring mountain states are destined to become the
great center of pro‘uction for this industry in the United

States.
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